The Alpha's Secret White Wolf Mate

Kaelynn POV:

"Wake up, Higgins."

The deep voice dragged me back to consciousness, but the cold blade that had pierced my heart in my past life was gone. Instead, a wave of artificial heat crashed through my veins, hot and thick like boiling oil.

I sucked in a sharp breath and clawed at the heavy velvet sheets beneath me.

Silver moonlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows, cutting across the minimalist concrete walls and dark leather furniture of a modern penthouse.

Then came the scent.

Heavy cedarwood and chilled mountain whiskey slammed into my senses like an avalanche. It was the suffocating, raw presence of a pureblood Alpha. In our modern wolf society, an Alpha was not just a pack leader; they were the apex predators at the top of the corporate and military hierarchy.

I turned my head stiffly toward the shadow near the terrace doors.

A pair of dark golden eyes gleamed back at me in the dark.

It was Clint Ryan.

He was the legendary frontline commander of the Northern Pack, rumored to have been stripped of his rank and discarded to this border territory after suffering crippling battlefield injuries. He was also the man my family was supposed to marry Deedee to.

Memories from my past life slammed into my skull with brutal clarity. Deedee, my younger sister, had slipped an aphrodisiac into my drink, knocked me out, and shoved me into the bridal car destined for this penthouse. She had traded places with me, desperate to escape marrying a broken man.

The cheap herb in my blood flared again, clawing at my stomach and turning my skin flush. It was a low-grade concoction designed to strip an Omega of all rational thought and force a false heat.

The silhouette moved.

Clint stepped out of the moonlight. He wore a tailored black dress shirt, unbuttoned at the throat, revealing the dense cords of muscle on his chest.

He did not limp. He did not stumble like the rumors claimed. He crossed the floor with the predatory grace of an uninjured dire wolf stalking its prey.

He stopped at the edge of the mattress, towering over me. The sheer density of his presence seemed to suck the oxygen straight out of my lungs.

"You are not Deedee," he said. His voice was a low, abrasive rasp, completely devoid of warmth.

I bit the inside of my cheek until the sharp tang of copper filled my mouth. Pain cleared the haze in my eyes. I refused to cower. In my past life, my panic had only sealed my grave.

"I am Kaelynn. Her older sister."

I forced the words past my dry lips, keeping my voice steady despite the trembling in my limbs.

A flicker of surprise cut through Clint's golden stare, instantly replaced by frost. He dropped down, planting a heavy hand on the mattress right beside my head. The bed dipped under his weight.

"The Higgins family thinks they can insult me by tossing a wolfless runt into my bed?" he sneered. His scalding breath brushed against my collarbone.

Wolfless. The word was a common slur in our world, meant for those born without an inner wolf, unable to shift or fight. To them, I was just a defective Omega, an embarrassment to the bloodline.

His rough knuckles brushed against the side of my neck, stopping just short of my pulse point.

The heat inside me spiked violently at the contact, but I raised my hands and pressed both palms firmly against his stone-hard chest.

"They think you are a cripple worth throwing away," I said, meeting his gaze without blinking, "and that is why I am the one here tonight."

Clint's pupils constricted into razor-thin slits. The words hit his buried pride like a bullet.

My body shook from the herb, and my breathing hitched. "I was drugged and dumped here. But I am not running."

His gaze dropped to my parted lips, lingering on the bead of blood from my bite. His throat bobbed once.

"Stay?" His fingers clamped around my jaw. He did not squeeze hard enough to bruise, but the grip was pure steel. "What could a broken wolf possibly offer an Alpha?"

I forced my chin up, refusing to break eye contact. "I can give you the truth. The truth about why the Higgins family betrayed you, and why Deedee was terrified to enter this room."

The air turned freezing. The cedar scent flared with sharp, aggressive dominance. An Alpha did not tolerate insolence.

He stared at me for three long heartbeats, then let go of my face.

Clint stood up straight, brushing invisible lint from his black cuffs with the detached precision of a corporate executive.

"Save your cheap tricks. I do not care about small-town gossip." He turned his back on me and walked toward the bedroom door.

I pulled myself up on my elbows, my voice raspy. "Tomorrow! Tomorrow, you will need what I know!"

He did not stop. His hand gripped the heavy metal latch.

"Survive the night first," he said without looking back. "Then we talk."

The heavy oak door slammed shut with a deafening crack.

I collapsed back onto the mattress, sweat soaking through my hair.

Dragging my heavy limbs over the edge of the bed, I crawled into the adjoining bathroom, turned the brass knob of the shower all the way to cold, and dragged myself under the freezing spray.

The ice-cold water struck my feverish skin, shocking my nerves and dulling the chemical fire in my veins. I leaned against the wet porcelain tiles, closing my eyes as the past burned behind my eyelids.

Suddenly, the heavy thud of rapid footsteps echoed from the hallway outside, heading straight for my bedroom.